The winner of "Looking for a designer 2018” says that "you can make fashion ethical, sustainable, and respectful "

Manuela Peña, Colombian designer, creator of the Religare brand, was the winner of the contest "Looking for a Designer 2018" thanks to her innovative proposals. This contest was held as an initiative of the FUCSIA magazine and aims to find new designers and emerging talents throughout the country.

The victory during the competition assured her a privileged place in the catwalks of Colombiamoda, one of the most important and outstanding events within this industry in the coffee country. This year, she will present her ÜIO collection, a bet with a focus on sustainable fashion, using natural and reused supplies for his creations.

Leer en español: Entrevista: ¿Cuál es la apuesta de Manuela Peña en las pasarelas de Colombiamoda 2018?

Manuela Peña, provided by GJ Comunicación

Last July 11th, LatinAmerican Post spoke with Manuela Peña and she told us about the process of her career and the great step she is taking with her collection.

Manuela Peña (MP): "First of all, to know the world of fashion is important. These three years my brand, Religare, has been focus on sustainable fashion and ethics with the environment since I am very aware of life. The fashion industry is one of the most polluting industries (…) that hurts me a lot. In the contest, Looking for a designer, I realized that it is possible, you can make fashion is ethical, sustainable and respectful”.

Peña also told us about the inspiration and materials for her designs. The designer says that "we have a rich variety of ethnicities, fibers, natural dyes." The Colombian argues the industry in the coffee country is very good as well as internationally, and what has to be done is to return to the origin rescuing many of the ancestral techniques of these cultures

MP: "We come from a very beautiful mixture and a miscegenation, this concepts are very important in the international fashion world because (…) what remains are all those cultures that cannot be lost".

Also read: The surprises that the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Madrid left us

The world of fashion is a changing the industry and the concepts of sustainability become more relevant every day. For this reason, designers such as Manuela Peña, who aim to be leaders in the medium, commit their brand with values ​​and strategies for the protection of the environment to reduce the negative impact they generate in our environment.

The designer also gave us a preview of what will be seen on the catwalks of Colombiamoda.

MP: "this walkway is called ÜIO, comes from the belief of the Amazonian people, for them ÜIO is the giant anaconda that inhabits the Amazon River. In their cosmogony, they talk about the relation of the anaconda with the Milky Way, they believe that the river is alive, that relationship between the river and the serpent, symbolically, is something that appears in all the myths; it is to reunite the sky with the earth. (..) We are going to see earth colors, enveloping forms that crawl like the snake, tight and changing silhouettes, and finally, something more glam, which is the galaxy, are the stars, something more glamorous".

Photography preview of your collection, provided by GJ Comunicación

In a press release, GJ Comunicación reported "her catwalk, scheduled for the closing of the fair, will feature the presentation of 35 creations, each reflecting the elegance, comfort and naturalness that characterize their proposals."

LatinAmerican Post | Amaranta Ursula
Translated from “Entrevista: ¿Cuál es la apuesta de Manuela Peña en las pasarelas de Colombiamoda 2018?”